Photo: Julia Di Sieno
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY — There is no argument against the truth that driving through your neighborhood shopping center or supermarket parking lot requires a good deal of deep breathing and patience.
But when a driver follows a neighbor from his home to the neighborhood supermarket parking lot and then makes a sincere effort to run that neighbor over in full view of other drivers and shoppers, forgiveness is not in the Penal Code.
This principle may have slipped the mind of 57-year-old Santa Ynez resident Julia Di Sieno on the night of March 24th when she allegedly followed her neighbor from his home to the local supermarket.
It was in the parking lot of the El Rancho Market where the neighbor alighted from his vehicle and walked toward the store entrance, only to find himself in Di Sieno’s crosshairs as she gunned her pickup truck and struck her victim in the shoulder with the truck’s side mirror.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, “Di Sieno then fled from the scene,” and became the subject of interest to SBSD deputies who arrived shortly thereafter.
The ensuing investigation involved multiple witness statements and corroborating video surveillance recordings which supported the victim’s claim of vehicular assault.
The next day, March 25th, deputies made contact with Di Sieno at her residence and took her into custody. She was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where she was booked on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon with her bail set at $30,000.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
